§1856. State jurisdiction

(a) In general

(1) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, nothing in this chapter shall be construed as extending or diminishing the jurisdiction or authority of any State within its boundaries.

(2) For the purposes of this chapter, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the jurisdiction and authority of a State shall extend-

(A) to any pocket of waters that is adjacent to the State and totally enclosed by lines delimiting the territorial sea of the United States pursuant to the Geneva Convention on the Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone or any successor convention to which the United States is a party;

(B) with respect to the body of water commonly known as Nantucket Sound, to the pocket of water west of the seventieth meridian west of Greenwich; and

(C) to the waters of southeastern Alaska (for the purpose of regulating fishing for other than any species of crab) that are-

(i) north of the line representing the international boundary at Dixon Entrance and the westward extension of that line; east of 138 degrees west longitude; and not more than three nautical miles seaward from the coast, from the lines extending from headland to headland across all bays, inlets, straits, passes, sounds, and entrances, and from any island or group of islands, including the islands of the Alexander Archipelago (except Forrester Island); or

(ii) between the islands referred to in clause (i) (except Forrester Island) and the mainland.

(3) Except as otherwise provided by paragraph (2), a State may not directly or indirectly regulate any fishing vessel outside its boundaries, unless the vessel is registered under the law of that State.

(b) Exception

(1) If the Secretary finds, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing in accordance with section 554 of title 5, that-

(A) the fishing in a fishery, which is covered by a fishery management plan implemented under this chapter, is engaged in predominately within the exclusive economic zone and beyond such zone; and

(B) any State has taken any action, or omitted to take any action, the results of which will substantially and adversely affect the carrying out of such fishery management plan;

the Secretary shall promptly notify such State and the appropriate Council of such finding and of his intention to regulate the applicable fishery within the boundaries of such State (other than its internal waters), pursuant to such fishery management plan and the regulations promulgated to implement such plan.

(2) If the Secretary, pursuant to this subsection, assumes responsibility for the regulation of any fishery, the State involved may at any time thereafter apply to the Secretary for reinstatement of its authority over such fishery. If the Secretary finds that the reasons for which he assumed such regulation no longer prevail, he shall promptly terminate such regulation.

(c) Exception regarding foreign fish processing in internal waters

(1) A foreign fishing vessel may engage in fish processing within the internal waters of a State if, and only if-

(A) the vessel is qualified for purposes of this paragraph pursuant to paragraph (4)(C); and

(B) the owner or operator of the vessel applies to the Governor of the State for, and (subject to paragraph (2)) is granted, permission for the vessel to engage in such processing and the application specifies the species to be processed.

(2) The Governor of a State may not grant permission for a foreign fishing vessel to engage in fish processing under paragraph (1)-

(A) for a fishery which occurs in the waters of more than one State or in the exclusive economic zone, except after-

(i) consulting with the appropriate Council and Marine Fisheries Commission, and

(ii) considering any comments received from the Governor of any other State where the fishery occurs; and

(B) if the Governor determines that fish processors within the State have adequate capacity, and will utilize such capacity, to process all of the United States harvested fish from the fishery concerned that are landed in the State.

(3) Nothing in this subsection may be construed as relieving a foreign fishing vessel from the duty to comply with all applicable Federal and State laws while operating within the internal waters of a State incident to permission obtained under paragraph (1)(B).

(4) For purposes of this subsection-

(A) The term "fish processing" includes, in addition to processing, the performance of any other activity relating to fishing, including, but not limited to, preparation, supply, storage, refrigeration, or transportation.

(B) The phrase "internal waters of a State" means all waters within the boundaries of a State except those seaward of the baseline from which the territorial sea is measured.

(C) A foreign fishing vessel shall be treated as qualified for purposes of paragraph (1) if the foreign nation under which it is flagged will be a party to (i) a governing international fishery agreement or (ii) a treaty described in section 1821(b) of this title during the time the vessel will engage in the fish processing for which permission is sought under paragraph (1)(B).

( Pub. L. 94–265, title III, §306, Apr. 13, 1976, 90 Stat. 355 ; Pub. L. 97–191, §1, June 1, 1982, 96 Stat. 107 ; Pub. L. 97–453, §9, Jan. 12, 1983, 96 Stat. 2491 ; Pub. L. 98–623, title IV, §404(4), Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3408 ; Pub. L. 99–659, title I, §101(c)(2), Nov. 14, 1986, 100 Stat. 3707 ; Pub. L. 101–627, title I, §112, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4453 .)

Amendments

1990-Subsec. (c)(1)(B). Pub. L. 101–627, §112(1), inserted before period at end "and the application specifies the species to be processed".

Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 101–627, §112(2), added par. (2) and struck out former par. (2) which read as follows: "The Governor of a State may not grant permission for a foreign fishing vessel to engage in fish processing under paragraph (1)(B) if he determines that fish processors within the State have adequate capacity, and will utilize such capacity, to process all of the United States harvested fish from the fishery concerned that are landed in the State."

1986-Subsec. (b)(1)(A). Pub. L. 99–659 substituted "exclusive economic zone" for "fishery conservation zone".

1984-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98–623 designated existing provisions as pars. (1) to (3), in par. (2), as so designated, redesignated cls. (1) and (2) as subpars. (A) and (B), respectively, and added subpar. (C), and in par. (3), as so designated, inserted exception relating to par. (2).

1983-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 97–453 inserted provision delineating the jurisdiction and authority of a State over waters adjacent to the State and over Nantucket Sound.

1982-Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 97–191 added subsec. (c).

Effective Date of 1982 Amendment

Section 3 of Pub. L. 97–191 provided that: "This Act [amending this section and section 1857 of this title] shall take effect on June 1, 1982."

Foreign Fish Processing in Norton Sound

Pub. L. 99–509, title V, §5004, Oct. 21, 1986, 100 Stat. 1912 , provided that: "For purposes of processing pink salmon within the internal waters of the State of Alaska, the geographic area bounded on the north by a parallel of latitude of 64 degrees, 23 minutes, on the south by a parallel of latitude of 63 degrees, 51 minutes, on the east by the baseline from which the territorial sea is measured, and on the west by the outer limit of the territorial sea, shall be considered to be internal waters of the State of Alaska for the purposes of section 306(c)(4)(B) of the Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1856(c)(4)(B)) until September 30, 1993."

Territorial Sea of United States

For extension of territorial sea of United States, see Proc. No. 5928, set out as a note under section 1331 of Title 43, Public Lands.

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in section 1857 of this title.